Liquid reservoir

ABSTRACT

A discharge arrangement for a liquid reservoir such as a toilet cistern, in which the cistern is of an airtight type. The arrangement of the present invention is that the cistern is provided with a liquid outlet port with a compressible seat surrounding the port. The seat includes a liquid passageway with a liquid inlet hole, a vent hole and a liquid outlet hole. Sealing means, such as floatable ball, is adapted to mate in sealing arrangement with the seat. There is also provided suitable means for preventing the seal from coming into sealing engagement with the seat during discharge from the cistern. In the case of manual operation, means such as a handle is employed for initiating liquid discharge from the cistern.

United States Patent Sharp 1 51 June 13, 1972 LIQUID RESERVOIR [72]Inventor: David Harold Sharp, 318 Linnet-Crescent,

Strathmore, Quebec, Canada [22 Filed: Dec. 1, 1970 21 Appl. 190.; 93,986

[52] US. Cl. ..4/28, 4/20, 4/26, 4/41, 251/159, 251/172, 277/34.3

[51] Int. Cl. ..E03d 3/00, 503d 3/10 [58] Field of Search ..4/28, 26,18, 56, 19, 59, 27, 4/67, 41; 251/159, 172; 277/343, 29

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,324,481 6/1967 Emerson eta1. ..4/2s

3,466,672 9/1969 McGahee ..4/67R Primary Examiner-Henry K. ArtisAttorney-Allison C. Collard 57 I ABSTRACT preventing the seal fromcoming into sealing engagement with the seat during discharge from thecistern. 1n the case of manual operation, means such as a handle isemployed for initiating liquid discharge from the cistern.

7 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures LIQUID RESERVOIR This invention relates toliquid reservoirs.

More particularly, this invention relates to an improved mechanism forpermitting the discharge of water from toilet tanks or similar liquidreservoirs. Inasmuch as one form of the present invention relates to theuse of the invention in a toilet tank or cistern, reference will bespecifically made thereto; it being understood that other uses, such asthose hereinafter described, may also be employed.

Conventional toilet tanks include a water cistern or tank retaining fromone to several gallons of water, and a mechanism for permitting thewater to be discharged from the toilet tank. Although many proposalshave been made in the prior art for improving the water releasemechanism, in practice the mechanism has remained the, same for manyyears without improvement due to the relative complexity of proposalsmade to improve such mechanisms.

Essentially, present day practices employ mechanisms having a pluralityof levers and connecting rods and, are relatively expensive inmaintenance costs and initial purchasing costs.

With this invention, there is provided a novel discharge mechanism fortoilet tanks or other liquid reservoirs which reduces the number ofcomponent parts required and, hence, the purchase price of the unit.Additionally, in view of the fewer number of components, maintenancecosts are considerably reduced.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a liquidreservoir, such asmay be used as a tank for a toilet facility,comprising an airtight liquid enclosure tank, said tank having a liquidinlet and a liquid outlet, a compressible seat surrounding said liquidoutlet, said seat including a liquid passageway therein, at least onesmall liquid inlet hole, at least one small vent hole, at leastonelarger liquidoutlet hole,a freely movable seal adapted to mate withsaid seat to seal said liquid outlet against water discharge, means forpreventing the seal from establishing sealing engagement with the seatduring liquid discharge from said tank, and in the case of manualoperation, means for initiating liquid discharge from the reservoir. Oneversion of the invention may also include arelief chamber spaced fromsaid liquid tank, said relief chamber being in communication with saidliquid passageway of said compressible seat, through its large outlethole and through its inlet. hole and vent with the interior of the tank,a liquid conduit extending between said relief chamber and said liquidoutlet, a relief valve in said relief chamber adapted to normally sealsaid last-mentioned relief chamber against liquid discharge from saidrelief chamber through said conduit to said liquid outlet, and means fordisplacing said relief valve from sealing said relief chamber.

As water is the conventional liquid used, reference will hereinafter bemade to the liquid being water.

More particularly, the present invention is based on using an airtightwater tank, which is capable of retaining atmospheric air under pressurecreated by compression of the air originally in the tank by the watersupply line pressure. This water tank may be any suitable enclosure,made from any suitable material, such as metal or rigid resinoussubstances. Conventionally, such tanks generally hold from one togallons of water and accordingly the water enclosure tank ma have such acapacity.

The water enclosure tank includes the conventional water inlet and wateroutlet, the tank being connected to the water inlet so as tocontinuously'permit water to be discharged into the tank upon demand.

The compressible seat component is adapted to surround the water outletof the tank about its complete circumference and in conjunction with theseal to prevent water escape from the tank unless initiated by theoperating lever of the tank. The seat includes a water passagewaytherein in communication with the main body of water in the tank.Communication may. be through one or more small vents or open valves.The seat must be flexible and compressible at least in part. To thisend, the seat is preferably composed of a circular hollow tubesurrounding the water outlet of suitable material, e.g. flexiblecompressible resinous substances. The resinous substance must be chosenso as to be capable of returning to its original shape upon removal ofany forces creating compression-Le, it must be elastic or resilient inthat sense.

Cooperating with the seat is a sealing element which is freely movable,and which is adapted to mate with the seat to seal the water outletagainst water discharge as desired-Le. during periods of nonoperation ofthe device. To this end, it is preferred that the seal be in the form ofa round ball of suitable material, e.g. plastic substances such asapolyethylene or polypropylene ball. The ball should be made of durable,hard substances, and must be made of a floatable type of material.

The means for preventing the seal'from establishing sealing engagementwith the seat during water discharge from said tank may be any suitablemeans such as, for example, one or more. projectionsextending upwardlyfrom the central aperture of the seat. In this manner, the seal may notextend completely downwardly into the aperture when the seat iscompressed by the internal tank pressure when water discharge isinitiated for operation of the device.

A further component in one form of a device embodying the presentinvention, is a relief chamber spaced from the main water tank. Thisrelief chamber may be of a minor size in comparison to the size of thewater tank, and is in communication with the water passageway of theseat. To this end, one or more conduits may connect the relief chamberwith the water passageway of the seat, to give a total passagewaysufficient to permit water in the water passageway to freely move intothe relief chamber. The relief chamber may be of any suitable size andpreferably is incorporated into the structure below the seat andadjacent the discharge outlet of the water tank.

The relief chamber is in communication with the water outlet of the tankthrough one or more suitable apertures. As outlined previously, there isprovided a relief valve normally preventing water discharge from therelief chamber into the water outlet, which relief valve is adapted tobe displaced from sealing engagement with the outlets in communicationwith the discharge. 7 i

The relief valve is preferably in the form of a ball made of a suitablesubstance which is heavier than water.

To actuate the water discharge of the tank, there is provided amechanism for displacing the relief valve'from sealing engagement withthe conduit in communication with the water outlet, which may be anysuitable means directly or indirectly engaging and displacing the reliefvalve. To this end, conventionally, tank systems include a simplehand-operated lever and for reasons of economy and simplicity, such adevice may be employed with the present invention. p v 7 Having thusgenerally described the invention, reference will now be made to theaccompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a tankaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the tank of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a section taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral 1 designates a cisternor tank enclosure which may be of any suitable shape and size accordingto conventional practices. Such tanks may contain several gallons ofwater. The tank is connected to a water inlet designated by referencenumeral 13 emptying into the body of the 'tank, and a water outletdesignated by reference numeral 6 which is in the form of a 90 elbowattached to the tank by, e.g. cap screws 10.

The tank of FIG. 1, as will be seen from the drawings, is permanentlyconnected to the line supply of water which in domestic uses rangesanywhere from 30 to 50 pounds line pressure. The tank itself iscompletely sealed and airtight. It

will thus always retain some air and some water, the volume of eachdepending on what part-of the cycle is taking place.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a seat surroundingthe water discharge outlet 6, which seat is designated generally byreference numeral 3. The seat is of a' generally circular shape and ismade of a compressible flexible material such as polyethylene. The seat3 includes an internal water passageway indicated by reference numeral7, extending about the circumference of the seat. As will be seen fromFIG. 3, the seat includes a central aperture, and at least one waterinlet 12 as well as at least one vent 14 whereby water from the tank mayslowly enter into the water passageway 7 of the seat.

The seat 3 may be positioned about the discharge outlet by rim 19 or bymeans of flanges 16 and 17 and cap screws 18 or by adhesive or byprojections 15 which also perform a further function as will behereinafter described.

Operating in conjunction with the seat is a sealing ball indicated byreference numeral 2, which is made of a fioatable material such aspolyethylene. The ball 2 is adapted to cooperate and mate with the seatto prevent water discharge.

One form of the device incorporating the features of the presentinvention includes a relief chamber indicated generally by referencenumeral 22, which includes a conduit 8 in communication with the waterpassageway 7 of the seat,

whereby water may freelyenter ihto the relief chamber 22 from thepassageway 7. The relief chamber 22 includes a further passageway 24 incommunication with a water passageway 9 of the elbow. There is provideda relief valve in the form of a heavier-than-water ball 4 adapted tonormally seal off the passageway 24.

To displace the ball 4 from the outlet 24 there is provided a simplelever mechanism indicated by reference numerals and 5a, wherebydepression of the lever 5 actuates the arm 5a in operative associationwith the ball 4, thus to raise the ball 4. Release of the lever 5permits the ball 4 to return to sealing engagement with the passageway24.

In operation, assuming that the tank 1 is empty, water may enter underline pressure through the water inlet 13. As the water rises to theheight of the seat inlet 12, water enters the water passageway 7 insidethe seat and fills it and relief chamber 22. The air vents through thevent 14, and the ball 4 blocks off exit of the water through the conduit24. The water will continue to rise but will not displace the sealingball 2 from engagement with the seat 3 due to the increase of pressurewithin the tank and the differential pressure on the portion of the ballover the outlet passage definedby the seat 3 which is sufficient toovercome its normal buoyancy.

Finally, once the tank is full, the air in the tank at the beginning ofthe operation is compressed to a thin layer at the top of the tank, andthe same pressure will obviously exist in the tank, in the seat and inthe supply line whereby water will stop flowing from the inlet 13.Because of the flexible compressible nature of the material used to formthe seat 3, the seat will distort slightly under the differentialpressure of the sealing ball 2 by bulging inwardly somewhat.

To empty the tank lever 5 is depressed which in turn will displace ball4 from conduit 24. This will permit water from the relief chamber toexit and in turn, water from the water passageway 7 will flow into therelief chamber and be discharged through outlet 24 into the dischargeelbow 6. Because of the pressure within the tank, the exit of the wateris rapid and hence, water from the seat is rapidly lost.

- The internal pressure of the tank forces the seat downwardly anddistorts it. However, because of the projections the sealing ball 2cannot move down as far as the seat does and the result is that waterwill rush in below the ball 2 through the central aperture of the seat 3and discharge from the tank 1. The result is that the pressure allaround ball 2 is equalized enough to permit the ball to float to the topof the water which allows the bulk of the water to discharge. When thewater has been discharged, the ball 2, because of the lowered waterlevel, will settle back on the seat 3 which will then have regained itsoriginal shape due to its resilience. In the meantime, water has beencontinuously flowing into tank 1 through inlet 13 and now begins to fillthe tank 1 again.

1 liquid discharge;

4 Guides 11 serve to guide the ball 2 back into seating engagement withthe seat.

Should any negative pressure develop inside the tank as it empties, airwill automatically enter either through the water exiting through theaperture in the seat 3 or through the conduit 24 and passageway 8, viawater passageway 7 and vent 14.

While a preferred embodiment as described above has been illustratedwith reference to a toilet tank, the present invention finds applicationin many other fields including liquid reservoirs for storage of varioustypes of liquids, as well as use for pipeline applications as a safetydevice should the pipeline rupture. In these and other forms, the deviceof the present invention may suitably operate as described above so asto include a reservoir, an inlet and outlet port, a compressible seatwith the liquid inlet, a vent outlet and a liquid outlet, and a sealelement such as a ball, with suitable means for supporting the valve,e.g. fingers or other supports to prevent the ball or valve from cominginto sealing engagement with the seat during liquid discharge. In suchapplications, there may also be included a secondary tank acting as asurge tank.

It will be understood that various modifications can be made to thedevice of the present invention without departing from the spirit andscope thereof. To this end, for example, the seat may be attached to thedischarge outlet by adhesive or other suitable means, e.g. screws.

I claim: I q

1. In a liquid system the improvement comprising discharge means topennit discharge from said system, said system being of the type whichis pressurizable, seat means surrounding an outlet port for said system,said seat means beingcompressible and resilient and including a liquidpassageway therein, at least one small liquid hole adapted to admitliquid to said passageway, at least one small vent hole adapted topermit air to be vented from said passageway and at least one outlethole adapted to discharge liquid from said passageway in said seatcommunicating with said liquid passageway, a freely movable seal adaptedto mate with said seat to seal said outlet against and means forpreventing the seal from establishing sealing engagement with the seatduring liquid discharge. 1

2. The product of claim I, porated into a pipeline.

3. The product of claim 1, wherein the device is incorporated into atoilet tank.

4. The product of claim 1, wherein the system is incorporated into atoilet tank, the toilet tank being an airtight liquid enclosure tank,said tank having a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet, a compressible seatsurrounding said liquid outlet, said seat including a liquid passagewaytherein, at least one small liquid inlet hole, at least one small venthole, at least one larger liquid outlet hole, a freely movable sealadapted to mate with said seat to seal said liquid outlet against liquiddischarge, means for preventing the seal from establishing sealingengagement with the seat during liquid discharge from said tank andmeans for initiating liquid discharge from the reservoir.

5. The produce of claim 1, wherein said system includes a reliefchamber, said relief chamber being in communication with said outlethole which is adapted to discharge liquid from said passageway, saidrelief chamber including a relief valve adapted to normally preventliquid discharge from said relief chamber.

6. The produce of claim 5, wherein said relief chamber is of arelatively minor size in comparison to the size of said liquid system, aconduit in communication with said relief chamber and said outlet holeswhich is adapted to discharge liquid from said passageway whereby liquidin said passageway may freely enter said relief chamber.

7. The produce of claim 6, whereinsaid relief valve comprises anon-floatable generally spherical valve.

wherein the device is incor-

1. In a liquid system the improvement comprising discharge means topermit discharge from said system, said system being of the type whichis pressurizable, seat means surrounding an outlet port for said system,said seat means being compressible and resilient and including a liquidpassageway therein, at least one small liquid hole adapted to admitliquid to said passageway, at least one small vent hole adapted topermit air to be vented from said passageway and at least one outlethole adapted to discharge liquid from said passageway in Said seatcommunicating with said liquid passageway, a freely movable seal adaptedto mate with said seat to seal said outlet against liquid discharge, andmeans for preventing the seal from establishing sealing engagement withthe seat during liquid discharge.
 2. The product of claim 1, wherein thedevice is incorporated into a pipeline.
 3. The product of claim 1,wherein the device is incorporated into a toilet tank.
 4. The product ofclaim 1, wherein the system is incorporated into a toilet tank, thetoilet tank being an airtight liquid enclosure tank, said tank having aliquid inlet and a liquid outlet, a compressible seat surrounding saidliquid outlet, said seat including a liquid passageway therein, at leastone small liquid inlet hole, at least one small vent hole, at least onelarger liquid outlet hole, a freely movable seal adapted to mate withsaid seat to seal said liquid outlet against liquid discharge, means forpreventing the seal from establishing sealing engagement with the seatduring liquid discharge from said tank and means for initiating liquiddischarge from the reservoir.
 5. The produce of claim 1, wherein saidsystem includes a relief chamber, said relief chamber being incommunication with said outlet hole which is adapted to discharge liquidfrom said passageway, said relief chamber including a relief valveadapted to normally prevent liquid discharge from said relief chamber.6. The produce of claim 5, wherein said relief chamber is of arelatively minor size in comparison to the size of said liquid system, aconduit in communication with said relief chamber and said outlet holeswhich is adapted to discharge liquid from said passageway whereby liquidin said passageway may freely enter said relief chamber.
 7. The produceof claim 6, wherein said relief valve comprises a non-floatablegenerally spherical valve.